AN INTRODUCTION TO MOSAIC KNITTING

Part of the accompanying materials for a presentation to the Twisted
Stitches of Central New York Knitting Guild, by Esther Smith Bozak on
December 6, 1997.
Mosaic knitting patterns were first identified and categorized by Barbara
G. Walker in the late 1960's. She is credited with coining the term as
well as collecting, designing, and exploring the possibilities of the
knitting technique. Hundreds of patterns, mostly in chart form, appear in
many of her books. Today's knitters are enjoying a renewed interest in
mosaic knitting, as seen in the Fall 1997 issue of Interweave
Knits and by the reprint of Ms. Walker's Mosaic Knitting by
School house Press, for example. Don't overlook older pattern stitch
dictionaries; mosaic patterns can be found in many of these volumes,
although they are usually not labeled as "mosaics." Instead, look through
the slip stitch patterns sections for patterns which follow the principles
and rules of mosaic knitting.

As defined by Ms. Walker, "[m]osaic patterns are slip-stitch designs in
two color. Two different strands are used, one at a time. They are changed
at the beginning of each right-side row. So a mosaic pattern is made by
working one right-side row and one wrong-side row with Color A, then
dropping Color A at the right-hand edge. picking up Color B, and working
the next two rows with Color B -- and so on...The two primary principles
of mosaic patterns are: (1) every slip-stitch is slipped with yarn in
back on all right-side rows, and with yarn in front on
all wrong side rows (that is, with the yarn held always to the wrong
side.; (2) every wrong-side row is just like the preceding right-side row,
with the same stitch being worked, and the same stitch being slipped."
(Walker1, p. 185)

Mosaic patterns are generally presented in chart form. These charts are
fundamentally different from other charted colorwork. That is, they are
not worked in the same manner as other charts with which knitters might
be familiar. There are only a few basic rules to using mosaic pattern
charts; the reader is referred to any of the references (especially those
by Ms. Walker) listed below for detailed discussions of these rules.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Copyright 1997, 1998 Esther Smith Bozak. All
rights expressly reserved. This document may be used by individuals for
personal use only. It can be distributed to and shared with others as
long as it remains fully intact, including this copyright notice. It may
not be sold, used to produce items for sale, or used in a compilation or
archive of any kind without the expressed written permission of the
author.
Last Updated: July 8, 1998
Esther S. Bozak, ebozak@cs.oswego.edu
URL: http://www.cs.oswego.edu/~ebozak/knit/esb-patterns/mosaic-intro.html